Calculating your Body Mass Index

One of the surprising issues I've encountered as a result of losing weight (see A SENSE OF STYLE II or HOW I LOST WEIGHT) has been the reaction of others who don't see me more than a few times a year. Typically they might ask "Are you OK?" or "Are you eating alright?" I simply tell them, "Yes, I'm eating fine. I've lost weight because I wanted to lose weight and now I'm simply maintaining where I'm at."

I understand why some folks might react that way, but it's also slightly annoying in that that seems to be the more prevalent response rather than the one I would prefer (and the view I take of myself) which would be something like, "Wow, you've lost weight and you look good"—because that's what I think. (Well, except for the "Wow" part. When I say "look good," of course, I just simply mean with regards to the thinner and therefore healthier me—I know I'm never gonna have six-pack abs or look anything like Brad Pitt and that's OK.)

I just realized too that I probably should clarify something—my height. I'm about six feet tall, maybe a little under. I think 150-155 lbs is just about right for my height, but I'm only judging by my own view of how I think I look and feel. I wouldn't say I'm anywhere near anorexic and I know I'm not bulemic (both those disorders are mostly endured by women, but it's not impossible for men to suffer from them too).

I Googled "body mass index" and found two good BMI calculators at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC page actually has links to two separate BMI calculators—one for adults, one for children/teens. I used the two adult ones, of course. Both sites seem to agree perfectly and produce a BMI of 20.3 for me when I enter my height as 6' 0" with a weight of 150 lbs.

BMI categories:

Underweight = 18.4 or less
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
overweight = 25-29.9
obesity = 30 or greater>

As you can see a BMI of 20.3 puts me around the top of the lowest third of the "normal weight" category (Whew!). When I plug in my weight as 210 lbs, I get a BMI of 28.5 indicating that I was merely "overweight" at that point. If I enter a weight of 220 (which I think I was right at once in a while) my BMI becomes 28.8, dangerously close to the obesity threshold of 30, though frankly I already considered myself obese at that point simply based on how I felt.

So the bottom line is that apparently I'm right about where I should be in terms of BMI, which as far as I know is at least a semi-official government standard or guideline for judging one's proper weight (or target weight if intending to try to lose—or even in rare cases gain—some).

I didn't really need a BMI calculator to tell me I feel much better now than I ever did when there was so much more of me. However, it's reassuring to have some sort of quasi-official confirmation that I'm right where I should be, that I didn't in fact lose too much weight which is what I could have begun to assume given the reactions of some others.